Nick Lovett
Staff Writer
Last Monday, the nation was stunned as the Boston Marathon was bombed. Three people lost their lives and over 200 people were injured. The act, though despicable, united a city and a country. Acts like these remind us that we have to stay connected to the people closest to us, and we have to be as friendly as we can to our neighbors because we do not know when something could happen.
At Springfield College, Sti-Yu-Ka has been a tradition for over 40 years. The students take as much pride in it today as they ever have, and now especially in light of the recent terror attack, it has even more meaning. The spring festival has the unique ability to bring an atmosphere on this campus that few other events can.
This is only my second Sti-Yu-Ka, but from what I have seen last year, this is something that I am going to look forward to and enjoy every year. The atmosphere around campus during the week is nothing short of electric. Everyone, including faculty and administrators, gets involved. Seeing a whole campus enjoying the same events is simply amazing.
No other event can bring hundreds of students to Reed Green for the Taste of SC, where different vendors will circle the green giving out food where students can socialize with one another. Then there is the Sti-Yu-Ka Carnival, where there are games for everyone, and the Sti-Yu-Ka games, where students volunteer to do events like the oatmeal pass and the greased pole climb.
These students are cheered on by their peers who watch and laugh as the events transpire. Others throw around Frisbees and footballs on the grass to the side of the events. A large portion of the campus comes together for the week’s events, while faculty also come out to enjoy in the yearly tradition.
Students show up in masses to events like CAB Bingo and the Spring Concert as well. Every event offers something different, but every event also brings the students together in a similar manner. As much as the students do not realize, or even if they do, the Sti-Yu-Ka events unite our campus and make us closer as a college.
This is more important than ever because there have been two tragedies that have hit close to home (the Marathon bombings and the shooting at Sandy Hook) this school year, and both have made us realize just how fragile everything really is. That is what makes this year’s Sti-Yu-Ka events even more important than usual.
This week we will be able to meet people we have never met before, we will be able to show our amazing school spirit and we will all be together in doing so. The celebration of spring has taken on a whole new meaning this year, and it should be one that should not be soon forgotten.
The nation will soon, sadly enough, fall back into normalcy, but Springfield College will always have Sti-Yu-Ka. We will always have this weeklong event where we can all come together as a campus and be happy for what we have here at this school. Our school is unique in many different ways, but Sti-Yu-Ka is in my opinion the best one.